N. Korea threatens nuclear 'holy war'

According to the North Korean minister of armed forces, the Northern military is ready and prepared to wage a 'holy war' against their Southern enemies. The South's military drills--involving live artillery--have been seen in the North as an attempt to 'initiate conflict.' The tension between the two countries has been steadily wound tighter and tighter, following multiple incidents of aggression. Neither side seems willing to compromise. The North reports that Kim Jong Il has stated that N. Korea intends to counter the South's 'intentional drive' to war with some sort of nuclear weapon at any moment neccesary. The South, on the other hand, has vowed to 'punish' North Korea in the occurance of incidents like the shelling of an island within Southern borders. The United States is expected to pressure the North's main ally--China--into laying blame on someone in order to assert it's power and resolve the crisis. Thus far, China has 'urged dialouge' between the two countries.
I have to say, the first thing that came to mind when I saw the title of this article was, "Oh, God." I am halfway exasperated and halfway nervous when I hear of the ongoing tension between the North and South Korean nations. Whenever the countries aren't actively and aggressively speaking out against each other, they are pointing fingers at who did what and denying they did this and you did that and no I didn't and yes you did and you're a liar and blah de blah de blah. It's almost like... I don't know... a soap opera where the plot has so many twists and turns that all you have to do to make a storyline is say, "YOU DID IT." On the other hand, this constant, nitpicking quarreling could have huge effects on the rest of the world if the nations follow through on their threats. A "holy war"?! A nuclear holy war?! No! I wasn't even aware that Korea had a national religion to start a holy war around. What would it solve if North Korea decided to bomb the bejezus out of South Korea? Sure, they would have 'won' their 'holy war', but who's the one who dies of radiation poisoning? Hm.... North! I usually get irritated when the U.S feels the need to go into other countries and play cops and robbers, but in this case, with a threat being specified as nuclear coming from the mouth of a very dangerous, very unstable dictator... Aiy. Maybe this would be an exception to my hesitancy to get involved in other countries' business.

 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40788151/ns/world_news-asiapacific/

9/11 Health Bill Passes Senate

The Senate has unanimously passed a health bill for the first responders on 9/11. After being at a standstill for months, the Democratic party made a deal to satistfy the Republican senators who opposed the bill. Now the bill is required to be passed by the House in order to go into effect. The bill will do so later today.

My first question when I read this was, why now? Why did a bill benefitting emergency personnel who worked at the Trade Towers just NOW get passed? Wasn't that terrorist attack ten years ago? Secondly, what exactly does the bill do--is there really any assistance to make up for what the insurance companies refuse to cover? Thirdly, what on earth is there to oppose in the bill that made it take so long? There is something seriously wrong with this country when courageous heroes like the first responders need federal support--reluctant support, I might add--to take care of the medical conditions they developed when rescuing their fellow Americans. Stupid.

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/12/22/5697145-911-health-bill-passes-senate-

Pentagon: Lifting gay ban to take time

While the Senate voted to overturn the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy employed by the military, the policy will remain in place 'awhile longer' because such drastic changes take time. Military commanders want to make sure that lifting the ban will not effect the troops' ability to work together. According to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, any new policies put into place will have to ensure that the present standards of the military are still met. As of now, there will be a sixty day waiting period until, presumably, the DADT policy will be officially repealed. Meanwhile, the military has sent out a memo to its troops reminding any gay or lesbian military members to stay quiet because they could be dismissed from the military.
While I think this is a step in the right direction, saying that it will 'take time' is a massive understatement. I believe that prejudice directed at homosexuals can be generational. And sad as it is, until people who grew up under the strict belief that homosexuality was THE ultimate sin are dead and gone, constant oppostition will continue to face the gay and lesbian community. I like how, at a federal level, homosexuals are finally being recognized as people; citizens with rights, and not some blasphemous sinner that needs to be 'fixed.' However, I am positive that the vote to repeal DADT will be met with some violent and ardent protests.

Cops: Store owner kills 3 would-be robbers

An attempted robbery in Houston, Texas resulted in a shoot-out and three deaths. Jewlery store owner Ramon Castillo and his wife Eva were assulted by three robbers, two of whom had been pretending to be potential customers. The robbers tied up Eva and took her to a back room, then attempted to do the same to Ramon. He pulled out a pistol and opened fire at the invaders. The pistol shot killed one of the robbery suspects; Castillo grabbed a shotgun and engaged in a gunfight with the other two, who were also killed. After the shootout Castillo untied Eva, who was, amazingly, unhurt. Homicide investigator M.F Waters reported large numbers of bullet fragment and shotgun shells that made estimating the amount of shots fired a difficult task. Castillo was sent to the hospital to take care of his own battle wounds: shots to the shoulder, abdomen, and legs. It does not appear that Castillo will be charged for the death of the three robbers because it was a clear case of self defense. Says Waters, "[Castillo] was clearly defending his business, clearly defending his wife."
While death in the news is commonplace, very rarely is it that the antagonists are the ones who walk away with the short end of the stick. Or in this case, don't walk away at all. I wish there were more stories like this one; of course, death can always just NOT HAPPEN, but I wish more good people--the ones being attacked or robbed or mugged--would be the ones to walk away in one piece. Instead we hear news stories of the criminal getting away and avoiding the police. Perhaps occasions like this could be brought up when disscussing 2nd Amendment rights?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40713870/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

WikiLeaks vigilante war spills onto web

Multiple companies have been attacked by supporters of WikiLeaks's actions following the arrest of its founder Julian Aasange. A banking company called PostFinance's website was knocked down for most of the day, as well as MasterCard's site. Paypal, Amazon, Twitter and Facebook have also been victims. The attacks stem from an online hacker group that loosely congregate on a site known as 4Chan. They are going by the name of Anonymous, which, as a group, has also led charges against the Motion Pictures Association and the Recording Industry (of America). The "online mob" does not affiliate itself with any political party; in fact there is disagreement in the group over which side to pick. According to Dean Turner, a Symantec Corp. security researcher, the attacks work very simply: volunteers log onto a computer program and enter in the company's name, and the number of requests sent to the server, which is eventually overwhelmed by all the information. There is no convienient way to distinguish these attack requests from real requests, so it's a difficult problem to block. Another security researcher, Jeff Bardin, says these attacks are no surprise to him. "I bet this was premeditated by Aasange," he says. "...[his] hacking past is leveraging his ties to the hacking community."

I am also not surprised at the attacks that have stemmed from the WikiLeaks supporters. While I doubt that Aasange told his fellow WikiLeaks people to go and take down big corporations in the event of his arrest, it makes sense that his sympathizers would want to 'avenge Aasange' for being detained by any government. What I find amusing is that they cannot agree on any sort of political agenda; it seems to be sporadic and erratic. It's not as if they are attacking REPUBLICAN websites, or INDEPENDENT websites, it's almost like they're just hitting anybody that they suspect needs hitting. So while they can stand united against the unreasonable, unfair, irrational imprisonment of the founder of such a brave website, they can't agree on anything else.
  

Pressure Rachets up on WikiLeaks Founder

The founder of a "whistle-blower" website, WikiLeaks, is now being hunted all around the globe. This sudden increase in interest comes almost directly after more than a quarter of a million classified documents were released onto the site. The articles expose the dealings in diplomacy between countries and the thoughts of the U.S government concerning the growing issue of North and South Korea's hostility. Diplomats and politicians around the world are outraged at the leak of these documents. The warrant that is out for Julian Aasange's arrest is officially charging him with two cases of rape.  His lawyer denies that Aasange is in hiding from the international police (Interpol) and insists that he has gone underground because of multiple calls to assassinate him.
While some up these documents were classified for a reason, I have to wonder: do any of the American people ever stop to think about who watches the world governments? I mean, the government is supposed to deal out justice, protect the people, and diplomatically resolve conflicts. But if the government is the one watching for problems, who watches the watcher? That's why I think that maybe not all of the leak is bad... certainly there are documents like the ones involving 9/11 that should be kept private, but to be able to call the governments out on deals made "under the table" is very empowering to the people. If the government would come down hard on civilians that attempt illegal actions, it is only fair that the government be privy to the same consequences. Rule of law; nobody is above it.





http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40467957/ns/us_news-wikileaks_in_security/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40469846/ns/us_news-wikileaks_in_security/